As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,267 of Heim, it is known to mount the actuator for a railroad switch on a so-called box sleeper of generally standard dimensions. Such a box sleeper is formed as an upwardly open channel to which the fixed rails are bolted and on which the switch tongues can slide. A switch rod in the sleeper, which typically is upwardly closed by a cover plate when installed, extends out a drive end of the sleeper to a motor unit that is carried at the drive end.
Thus this sleeper with the drive constitutes a fairly long piece of equipment cannot be transported to the installation site mounted crosswise on a rail car, like a standard sleeper, because its length substantially exceeds the normal sleeper length and is thus to wide for most rights of way. Thus the drive sleeper must be shipped separate from the other sleepers and must be oriented lengthwise of the flat car it is shipped on, making its handling difficult and generally bothersome. Alternately the drive unit can be mounted in the field onto the end of the box sleeper, a job that is fairly complex and often difficult to carry out in view of the often difficult site conditions.